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About a train ride from Helwan University is Girgis station. It is named after St. George the Dragon Slayer. In this place is the Coptic Church of Mar Girgis which was recently burned by supporters of Muslim Brotherhood. There were already 64 churches burned in Egypt in a single day. Unbelievable. Such wanton hate which reminds me of the burning of Minas Tirith.

The Ateneo Latin Mass Society cordially invites you to a Latin Mass in Extraordinary Form in honor of St. Hyacinth, confessor with the Octave of the Blessed Virgin Mary and st. Lawrence on Saturday, 17 August 2013, 8:30 am at the Oratory of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Loyola House of Studies, Ateneo de Manila University. Fr. Tim Ofrasio, SJ shall celebrate the mass.

Here are some pictures of the Latin Mass that was held today, 17 August 2013, 8:30 am at the Oratory of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Loyola House of Studies, Ateneo de Manila. The mass was celebrated in honor of St. Hyacinth with the Octave of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of St. Lawrence. Fr. Tim Ofrasio, SJ celebrated the mass. The Mass was sponsored by the Ateneo Latin Mass Society. Other pictures can be found in my Google Plus album.

There is a new Facebook page: “Million people march to Luneta August 26 sa araw ng mga bayani. Protesta ng bayan!” Below are the aims of the organizers of the march: “We, the taxpayers, want: the pork barrel scrapped, the senators and congressmen in the pork barrel fund scam investigated and charged accordingly, with full media coverage for the people to see.

Shelob is the giant spider-like creature that lived in Morgul Vale, guarding the secret path to Sauron’s realm in Mordor: “There agelong she had dwelt, an evil thing in spider-form, even such as once of old had lived in the Land of the Elves in the West that is now under the Sea, such as Beren fought in the Mountains of Terror in Doriath, and so came to Luthien upon the green sward amid the hemlocks in the moonlight long ago.”

This 21 August 2012, the National Holiday in commemoration of the death of Ninoy Aquino, Ang Kapatiran Party (Kapatiran sa Pangkalahatang Kabutihan or The Alliance for the Common Good) is making a signature campaign to abolish the Pork Barrel in Change.org: Pangulong Benigno Aquino III: Wakasan na ang Pork Barrel System/PDAF. Please visit this site and sign the petition as I did. The petition is in Filipino. Here’s my translation.

In C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia, Book 2), a White Witch ruled Narnia for a hundred years, making it “always winter, but never Christmas.” In this post, I would like to reflect on the phrase “always winter, but never Christmas” in the context of the demographic winter and the Birth Control.

I finished reading Maverick: The Success Story Behind the World’s Most Unusual Workplace by Ricardo Semler. I noticed that the principles that Semler used to run Brazil’s SEMCO are based on Gospel values, though he may not consciously do so. The overarching principle of Semler’s company management that we can deduce from his book is this: The glory of the company is man fully alive.

Extra (The Bit Player) starring Vilma Santos is a movie entry to the Cinemalaya 2013. The extras are the hobbits in the movie industry governed by wizards (movie directors) and powerful lords (producers). Extra is a movie about the life of these little people that makes movies happen. As Loida (Vilma) said, it is the crowd that define the setting, for what is a restaurant without ordinary people eating or a street without people walking by? “I used to be part of the crowd, too, ” Loida told a young girl. “But look at me now, I am a still part of the crowd.” She laughed.

A friend in Filipinos for Life asked me to make make a crowd estimate of the Luneta Rally last 26 Aug 2013. She sent me an aerial photograph of the crowd by Architect Paulo Alcazaren in Inquirer, which I used it as the basis of my crowd estimate, assuming there are no other persons outside the picture. There is also another excellent photo by Alcazaren in GMA Network.

Societas Liturgiae Sacrae Sancti Gregorii is an apostolate dedicated to the celebration, promotion and propagation of the Traditional Latin Mass of St. Gregory the Great, implementing the Motu Proprio, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM as envisioned by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

Let’s state Lagman’s definitions, though we may disagree with him. For him, conception is different from fertilization. Fertilization is the meeting of the egg (ovum) and the sperm. Conception is the implantation of this fertilized ovum on the woman’s uterus.

Anna Cosio and Mike Mapa of Filipinos for Life led the recitation of the rosary during the Anti RH Law rally with the theme “RH Supilin, Buhay Mahalin” last July 9, 2013, 9:00-11:00 a.m.

Last July 9, 2013, 9:00-11:00 a.m., the Filipinos for Life organized an Anti RH Law rally before the gates of the Supreme Court. As a member of the Filipinos for Life, I was given the task of a marshal. So I took lots of pictures. The participants, mostly young students of nearby Catholic schools, lined up along Padre Faura stretching up to the road before the Robinson’s Place Manila. Anthony Perez, President of Filipinos for Life estimated the crowd to be about 800-1,000. Meanwhile on the other part of Padre Faura also before the gates of Supreme Court are about 30 pro RH Law advocates in the same purple shirts, same purple umbrellas, and even same purple poster designs. Someone even posed himself as a cartoon bishop in white and gold. The sameness of their gears shows that someone bought in bulk and distributed it to the participants. In contrast, the Anti RH Law crowd came from different groups with different uniforms and different posters–mostly handmade, and practically no umbrellas. The morning crowd did not get much of the news. What you see in TV are the Anti RH crowd in Green and the pro RH crowd in purple with roughly the same crowd size. They are the afternoon crowd; the morning crowd was not covered by mainstream media. But here are the links to the pictures in the RH Supilin, Buhay Mahalin (Stop RH, Love Life) albums and see for yourself what you don’t see in the TV and newspaper news reports: part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4).

I took some notes of the proceedings of the Anti RH Law rally using my phone, typing as fast as my two thumbs can press the letters while I listen to the talks. Here’s the chronology of the events:

Anti-RH Law rallyists of St. Paul University-Manila lining up before going to the Supreme Court

Anti-RH Law rallyists of St. Paul University-Manila lining up before going to the Supreme Court

Anti-RH Law rallyists of St. Paul University-Manila lining up at Robinson’s Place Manila

Anti-RH Law rallyists of St. Paul University-Manila walking towards the Supreme Court

Students carrying hand-drawn Anti RH Law posters

For comparison: the pro-RH Law rallyists with their purple umbrellas. Double the size of this crowd and you get the total pro-RH Law crowd in Padre Faura.

9:12 a.m.

St. Paul students occupy the pedestrian walk opposite the Supreme Court facade, extending up to the road before Robinson’s Place Manila.

9:18 a.m.

The crowd is now from the Department of Justice to the Supreme Court. The Pro-Life Philippines Foundation displayed its green banner. On the desk hangs the flag of the Filipinos for Life, a shield of blue and white.

9:26 a.m.

I see students from San Sebastian and St. Paul’s. There is also one representative from the Rosary for Life holding a large flag containing the picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe. There are also Don Bosco students with their gray uniforms. I met Rolly de los Reyes of Courage Philippines.

9:32 a.m.

Mike Mapa and Anna Cosio of Filipinos for Life led the praying of the rosary.

9:41 a.m.

Ang Kapatiran senatorial candidate Lito David arrived all in white.

9:49 a.m.

The crowd began praying the the Joyful Mysteries.

10:00 a.m.

Now the Glorious Mysteries.

10:13 a.m.

Finished the rosary. Anna and Mike began to lead the crowd in shouting: “Buhay Mahalin, RH Supilin!” They named the groups who came: St. Paul University-Manila. Most of the crowd are students from this University. Don Bosco Mandaluyong. University of Sto. Tomas. Soldiers of Christ. Rosaries for Life. CBCP FL. Daughters of St. Paul. DMI Circle from Paranaque. San Sebastian Recoletos. CMT is still in the church for the mass.

10:17 a.m.

Mike speaks: “We must celebrate life. In the family we learn values. I am thankful to be alive. My happiest moment was when I became a father. And then I understood many things God has done.”

10:18 a.m.

Mike and Anna enumerated the other participating groups: Holy Family parish from Parang, Marikina. Sienna College. Citizens Initiative for Alternative Medicine. Ang Kapatiran Party. Augustinian Seminary. Mike continued: “Sometimes we feel in the media that we are alone. No, we are not alone. This is the happiest day of my life: to find a cause worth dying for. It is a reason to live, an advocacy. My happiest moment was when I became a father. I would like to thank my lovely wife, Cecil. There are so many attacks against the family. ”

Praying before the Supreme Court

San Sebastian College Recoletos de Cavite

10:22 a.m.

Lisa Poblete, a dentist, spoke in Tagalog. Here’s my translation: “I know Pedro Gil. I lived in Padre Faura. In the Filipino language, when a person is pregnant, she is ‘nagdadalang-tao’ or ‘bearing a man’. The human being is the beginning. All of us have navels. If we have navels, then we came from our mother’s wombs. Conception starts at fertilization. We have to give all Filipinos in the womb a chance to live.

Mike speaks: “The only persons without navels are Adam and Eve. I am a Filipinos for Life member. We would like to welcome the Rogationst seminarians of the Diocese of Paranaque. Very Pro-Life. Our next speaker is from Courage Philippines. This is an organization who helps people with same-sex attraction and live life to the fullest. Let us welcome Mr. Rolly de los Reyes.”

Rolly de los Reyes speaks: “I am a Bosconian. Don Bosco through Mary. In the feast day of Mary we offer flowers. All of us. Pregnancy or pagdadalang-tao is not sickness but a gift. We must thank God for the gift that is our mothers. There are mothers who died in pregnancy. But this does not mean that pregnancy is a disease. Mothers offered their lives for us. Let us give them a round of applause. Let us also thank our Mother, Mary. We must fight against pornography, such as FMH. What we need is not a sex education but a chastity education. We must teach society about the beauty of virginity. True love waits. ”

10:31 a.m.

The next speaker is Lito David, senatorial candidate of Ang Kapatiran Party.

Lito David speaks in Filipino. Here’s my translation of what I can catch: “Praise the Lord! Why are we here? Because of our faith in God who loves life. Let us pray that Supreme Court will not be bought. We could have won in Congress. There were 116 who are Anti RH. Afterwards, there were only 69? They sold their stand? For 70 million pesos? Because of the pressure of PNoy? Let us pray that the Supreme Court will not be bought.”

10:39 a.m.

Anna speaks: “In the Flames of Love, there is an actress together with Dina Bonevie. She is already a grand mom. She is known for giving chastity talks in public schools. Please welcome, Ms. Rica Dayrit.”

Rica Dayrit speaks in Filipino. Here is my translation: “The youth are here. Anna said that I am beautiful, a pro-life mother. Why are we beautiful? What is the will of God? The priest said that you can be a good Christian if you get married. We have children entrusted to us to be born. What is the beauty of being a pro-life mother? I go to checkups. I fall in line. Then I hear the doctor say to other women ahead of me. ‘Are you taking pills? I see many diseases in your ovary.’ We must take care of life. In this way there will be many beautiful Filipinos in our country.”

10:43 a.m.

Anna speaks: “Let us welcome the Claretian missionaries. We would like to welcome the Filipinos for Life and their president, Mr. Anthony Perez.”

Anthony speaks in Filipino and English: “Let us give each other a round of applause. What time did you wake up? The Soldiers for Christ have not yet slept. But they are here. We stand to celebrate life. And we have visitors here. What is your name?”

Anthony Perez, president of Filipinos for Life

Angel Liwanag, young poet

Little Boy: “Angel Liwanag. 5 years old . from Bonifacio.”

Anthony: “Let us give a round of applause to Angel! Where is your daddy? I am the speaker. Story?”

Little Boy: “No.”

Anthony: “There is Philippine Alliance of Ex-Seminarians. Are you going to become a priest?”

Little Boy: “Yes.”

Anthony: “Are you sure? Daddy’s message says that you are going to give a poem. These is the list of poems. To my fellow youth. Heart of Stone. You are my Boss.”

10:48 a.m.

Little Boy reciting in Filipino: “You are my boss. That is the word that I spoke. No counterflow. To help in the cross. You are my boss. … aspirations. Face my parents regarding their legacy of democracy. We can say that we have reached far, the way of the future generations. Thank you very much.”

10:50 a.m.

Anthony: “These are speeches that were made into poems.”

Meanwhile I walked around to the pro-RH side and checked their props, posters, and crowd size. There are only a few of them. Their many umbrellas and large streamers hide their small number. Their posters say that “I am a Catholic from a family of 8 or 9.” Then there is that guy posing as Bishop of Cartoon Diocese. They focus their attacks on the Catholic Church, creating a parody church in the process. Indeed, they lack imagination. They cannot truly create but only mock. As Frodo said of Orcs:

‘No, they eat and drink, Sam. The Shadow that bred them can only mock, it cannot make: not real new things of its own. I don’t think it gave life to the orcs, it only ruined them and twisted them; and if they are to live at all, they have to live like other living creatures. Foul waters and foul meats they’ll take, if they can get no better, but not poison.” (The Tower of Cirith Ungol, The Lord of the Rings)

Interesting. When I walked to the other side, I can’t hear what we in the Anti-RH side are saying. And vice-versa. I think this is what the current state of our dialogue on the RH Law right now.

10:54 a.m.

Anthony: “Sienna college is here. Let us fight for life. Our youth have talents; they just need the right guidance. Let us celebrate life. Thanks to all who came. We can stay longer if we wish. I know that many of you have classes. Thank you very much for making a stand. Let us think of our loved ones in our lives. Let us think what if they were not born? It is happier for men to love before they separate from each other. So let us join hands and pray the “Our Father””

The crowd sang the Our Father.

Anthony: “Let us sing Happy Birthday To You!”

The crowd sang the song twice.

11:00 a.m.

The rally officially ended. The Soldiers of Christ took over. And they sang and prayed I think until 12:00 noon, which is the end of the rally permit.

We compute the percentage of votes per senatorial candidate. We then sum these percentages and divide by the number of senators (33) to obtain the average percentage of votes received by each candidate per region. We also computed the standard deviation from this average. We get the difference between the actual percentage received by each candidate per region and the said average percentage of votes. We divide the result by the standard deviation per region so that the percentage differences are measured in terms of standard deviations. With this result, we can classify regions according to their strength of support for each senatorial candidate using the following color scheme:

JC studied in Ateneo de Manila Grade School of the Jesuit Fathers and then in De La Salle Santiago Zobel School of the La Salle Brothers. In college, he took up AB in Theology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. In 1999 he finished his post-graduate studies in Public Administration in University of the Philippines and in 2005 he finished his Law Degree in St. Louis University in Baguio City.

In this article, I shall focus only on JC’s Ignatian roots and his view of politics as a vocation. (Hopefully, in another article, I shall write on JC’s Lasallian roots and his view on empowerment through entrepreneurship). I shall frame the article as a response to a series of questions.

Introduction: Jesuit System of Education

Jesuit-run schools are outgrowths of the need to train the next generation of Jesuits. Since many parents also want their children to receive the same training as the Jesuits, the parents enrolled their children in Jesuit universities, and the Society of Jesus adapted to this new apostolate. That is why Ateneans in their early years are grounded in the Catechism and the recitation of the Rosary. Mary is the model and all Ateneans are slowly transformed into soldiers who shall offer their sword–their time, talents, and treasures–to our Lady, as St. Ignatius did at Montserrat in March 1522. Indeed, the Ateneo’s Alma Mater song is none other but the Song for Mary: “Mary for you! For your white and blue! We pray you’ll keep us, Mary, constantly true! We pray you’ll keep us, Mary, faithful to you!”

But to be a true soldier of Mary and companion of Christ, an Atenean must be intellectually prepared for such a task. He must study as St. Ignatius studied in University of Paris–Grammar (Latin), Literature, Philosophy, and Theology. Thus, an Atenean must be able to write lucid prose, dissect a poem, read original philosophical and theological texts, and discuss a thesis statements in oral exams. It’s the rigor of thought sharpened by years of training. Jesuit education is a system of education born out of decades of Jesuit experimentation on educational theory–what works and what doesn’t in the actual classroom with data from all Jesuit schools around the world. The results of this experiments were distilled into the Ratio Studiorum of 1599, also known in full as the Ratio atque Institutio Studiorum Societatis Iesu (“The Official Plan for Jesuit Education”). It is a guide for how a Jesuit school is run and how teachers should teach different subjects. It is a guide that remains in force today, albeit with some modifications, in all Jesuit schools, including the Ateneo de Manila University.

Question 1: Is JC de los Reyes a true Atenean?

He is. His elementary education in Ateneo de Manila Grade School with the Jesuits suffices. As the Jesuits would say: “Give me the child for seven years, and I will give you the man.” So even if JC has not undergone college in Ateneo and trained by the Jesuits to read the classics from Aristotle to Aquinas to Kant, JC has studied the works of these authors more than the average Atenean: JC studied them when he took up his AB in Theology in the Franciscan University of Steubenville, one of the most Orthodox Catholic Universities in the US. That’s Magis. That’s more.

Question 2: What’s an Atenean like JC de los Reyes doing in a Franciscan University?

Oh, why is our Jesuit Pope named Francis? When St. Ignatius was recuperating after being hit by a cannonball, he read the “Imitation of Christ” by Thomas a Kempis and the lives of the saints, which made him wish to imitate the heroic lives of saints such as St. Francis of Assisi. When St. Ignatius reached the Holy Land, hoping to settle there and convert the Muslims, the Franciscans sent him back to Europe. And from this setback arose the Jesuit mission of Counter-Reformation and the establishment of Jesuit Schools throughout Europe. By 1739, there were 669 Jesuit schools throughout the world. The bond between Jesuits and Franciscans is deep.

JC de los Reyes (right) with his uncle, Cardinal Chito Tagle (left)

Question 3: There is no doubt that JC de los Reyes would be a good philosopher or theologian. But politics is a different thing. To be a man and woman for others, you need competence. Is JC de los Reyes competent to be a senator?

For Plato, the ideal ruler is the Philosopher-King as stated in his book, The Republic. Thus, to be a philosopher suffices to be a senator. As Socrates said in Plato’s Republic:

Inasmuch as philosophers only are able to grasp the eternal and unchangeable, and those who wander in the region of the many and variable are not philosophers, I must ask you which of the two classes should be the rulers of our State?

The Philosophers, of course. And Socrates continued with his proposed definitions on what it is to be a philosopher:

Let us suppose that philosophical minds always love knowledge of a sort which shows them the eternal nature not varying from generation and corruption….And further, I said, let us agree that they are lovers of all true being; there is no part whether greater or less, or more or less honorable, which they are willing to renounce; as we said before of the lover and the man of ambition…. And if they are to be what we were describing, is there not another quality which they should also possess?… Truthfulness: they will never intentionally receive into their minds falsehood, which is their detestation, and they will love the truth….He whose desires are drawn toward knowledge in every form will be absorbed in the pleasures of the soul, and will hardly feel bodily pleasure–I mean, if he be a true philosopher and not a sham one….Such a one is sure to be temperate and the reverse of covetous; for the motives which make another man desirous of having and spending, have no place in his character….Another criterion of the philosophical nature has also to be considered….Then, besides other qualities, we must try to find a naturally well-proportioned and gracious mind, which will move spontaneously toward the true being of everything…. Well, and do not all these qualities, which we have been enumerating, go together, and are they not, in a manner, necessary to a soul, which is to have a full and perfect participation of being?…And must not that be a blameless study which he only can pursue who has the gift of a good memory, and is quick to learn–noble, gracious, the friend of truth, justice, courage, temperance, who are his kindred?…And to men like him, I said, when perfected by years and education, and to these only you will entrust the State.

That’s JC de los Reyes: the philosopher who aspires to be a senator. But JC never contented himself with the study of Philosophy or Theology. He wishes to be a competent public servant. That is why he studied Bachelor of Laws in the University of the Philippines and did post-graduate studies in Public Administration at St. Louis University in Baguio City. That’s Magis. That’s more.

The words of Paul VI in his “Profession of Faith”, express with full clarity the faith of the Church, from which one cannot deviate without provoking, besides spiritual disaster, new miseries and new types of slavery. “We profess our faith that the Kingdom of God, begun here below in the Church of Christ, is not of this world, whose form is passing away, and that its own growth cannot be confused with the progress of civilization, of science, and of human technology, but that it consists in knowing ever more deeply the unfathomable riches of Christ, to hope ever more strongly in things eternal, to respond ever more ardently to the love of God, to spread ever more widely grace and holiness among men. But it is this very same love which makes the Church constantly concerned for the true temporal good of mankind as well. Never ceasing to recall to her children that they have no lasting dwelling here on earth, she urges them also to contribute, each according to his own vocation and means, to the welfare of their earthly city, to promote justice, peace and brotherhood among men, to lavish their assistance on their brothers, especially on the poor and the most dispirited. The intense concern of the Church, the bride of Christ, for the needs of mankind, their joys and their hopes, their pains and their struggles, is nothing other than the great desire to be present to them in order to enlighten them with the light of Christ, and join them all to Him, their only Savior. It can never mean that the Church is conforming to the things of this world, nor that she is lessening the earnestness with which she awaits her Lord and the eternal Kingdom.” (Emphasis mine.)

Brotherhood among men. That’s what the Ang Kapatiran Party is all about: the brotherhood who “lavish their assistance on their brothers, especially on the poor and the most dispirited.” That’s why JC de los Reyes joined the Ang Kapatiran Party: in order to serve the poor, not within the framework of class struggle as espoused by the Marxist Left–many of whom are now occupying positions of power in Pres. Noynoy Aquino’s administration–but within the framework of Catholic Social Doctrine as expressed in papal documents such as “Mater et Magistra,” “Pacem in Terris,” “Populorum progressio,” “Evangelii nuntiandi,” “Octogesima adveniens”, “Redemptor hominis”, “Dives in misericordia”, “Laborem exercens,” and Second Vatican Council’s “Gaudium et Spes.”

Whether Ang Kapatiran Party got its name from this passage of the Instruction is not known. But the concept of brotherhood of men is as old as Christianity itself. First, we are all brothers and sisters because our Faith teaches us that we all came from the same parents: Adam and Eve. Second, all baptized Christians become adopted sons and daughters of God, so that we call Christ as our brother and God as “Abba” or Father. That is why, during the Mass, we have the courage to pray the “Our Father”.

Question 6. There is a useful concept in Liberation Theology: structures of sin. What for JC de los Reyes and the Ang Kapatiran Party are the structures of sin in Philippine Politics?

As stated in Cardinal Ratzinger’s Instruction:

Structures, whether they are good or bad, are the result of man’s actions and so are consequences more than causes. The root of evil, then, lies in free and responsible persons who have to be converted by the grace of Jesus Christ in order to live and act as new creatures in the love of neighbor and in the effective search for justice, self-control, and the exercise of virtue.

Politics has been perennially associated with the word “dirty,” because it is in politics that one meets political butterflies, balimbings, rumor-mongers, character assassins, vote-buyers, boot-lickers, mud-slingers, and plastic men. It is in politics that one crosses paths with druglords, warlords, and church groups crying, “Praise the Lord!” Politics, indeed, is a dirty world–but a dirty world in need of redemption. As JC de los Reyes wrote:

Please don’t be too mesmerized with track record and political experience. In Philippine politics, decades in power and experience means political survival, immoral compromise and corruption (jueteng payola). Track record often times is financed by the infamous pork barrel fund. Then they say, “I did this, I did that…” The big question is, what did you do and what will you do to contribute to PRINCIPLED POLITICS, a term that has been gagged side-lined and waylaid by trapos and demagogues.

For JC de los Reyes, politics can be a vocation, a path to holiness, for it is in politics that one can practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy on the scale of the barangay, the city, the province, and the country. Most of the corporal works of mercy–feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, harbour the harbourless, visit the sick, ransom the captive, bury the dead–are handled by government and institutions such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Philippine General Hospital (PGH). On the other hand, most of the spiritual works of mercy–instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, admonish sinners, bear wrongs patiently, forgive offences willingly, comfort the afflicted, pray for the living and the dead–are primarily the duties of the Catholic Church; the instruction of the ignorant is primarily addressed by Catholic Schools and it was only after the Americans took over the Philippine colony that the State intervened in education through the Public School System and the establishment of state universities such as the University of the Philippines.

JC de los Reyes with a supporter

8. What is the end or the ultimate goal of Politics?

The ultimate goal of politics is the salvation of man, because as St. Irenaeus said, “the great glory of God is man fully alive.” And this is not only in the here and now with the Millenium Development Goals and Happiness Index, but also in the life hereafter–heaven. St. Ignatius tells us in his Spiritual Exercises to always begin with the end in mind. And for a Catholic politician like JC de los Reyes, the end is the Last Judgment. This would be terrifying thought for a politician who has not exercised his duties to his neighbors during their lives on earth:

Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.42k For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,43 a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’44* Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ 45 He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ (Mt 25:41-45)

With this end in mind, a Catholic politician like JC de los Reyes then performs his duties as demanded by his office, and prays the Prayer for Generosity of St. Ignatius:

Lord, teach me to be generous. Teach me to serve you as you deserve; to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to ask for reward, save that of knowing that I do your will. Amen

As JC de los Reyes wrote:

The most profound victory not only for the Philippines but for humanity is if Ang Kapatiran Party can produce politicians or more aptly, political missionaries who have the purest of hearts and intentions, who do things not for votes but intensely out of love and compassion. Those who will ‘decrease, so He might increase,’ those who will ‘not let their right hand know what their left hand is doing,’ those who are ‘not lukewarm but cold or hot,’ those ‘who let their yes mean yes, and no mean no,’ and perhaps, those who will assume a faith journey whose victory is ‘now but not yet.’

That is why for JC de los Reyes of Ang Kapatiran Party, politics is a vocation.

(Full disclosure: The author, Dr. Quirino Sugon Jr., is an Assistant Professor of the Department of Physics of Ateneo de Manila University. He finished his BS Physics (1997), MS Physics (1999), and Ph.D. in Physics (2010) in Ateneo de Manila University. Though he is not an official member of the Ang Kapatiran Party, Dr. Sugon campaigns online for the Ang Kapatiran senatorial candidates JC de los Reyes, Lito Yap David, and Marwil Llasos.)

The parameters of interest are “Reproductive Health Law”, “Divorce”, and “Same-Sex Marriage”. For each “No” answer, I replace it by +1; for each “Yes” answer I replace it by -1. The sum of the scores is the Catholic Index with +3 as Catholic (agrees with the teachings of the Catholic Church) and -3 as anti-Catholic. I arranged the groups into Team Buhay (+3 Catholic Index), Team Agaw-Buhay (+1 or +2 Catholic Index), and Team Patay (0, -1, -2, and -3 Catholic Index). Please share the table. Thank you very much. Each vote counts. Let us show them that Catholic Vote exists.

Let us vote only those with +3 Catholic Index and forget about the rest. Be sure to include in your list the four senatorial candidates and the party-list supported by Filipinos for Life:

In this paper, I propose a simple ranking system for Philippine senatorial candidates based on the candidates’ opposition to the Reproductive Health Law, divorce, and same-sex marriage, as compiled by Catholic Vote Philippines. In this system, we replace the thumbs up icon by +1 and the thumbs down icon by -1, then add all the ratings for each candidate get a scale from -3 to +3 at intervals of 1 unit, with -3 as anti-Catholic and +3 as Catholic. We refer to this scale as the Catholicity scale. We then group candidates according to political parties and compute the average party stand on the issues. We add the average party stand to the candidate’s stand to arrive at the party-influenced stand of the candidate. Finally, we compute the Catholicity of the party-influenced stand of the candidate and rank the senatorial candidates accordingly.

(DISCLAIMER: The opinions, equations, and senatorial candidate rankings published by the author in this paper may not reflect the opinions of Manila Observatory, Ateneo de Manila University, and the Catholic Vote Philippines.)

[I transcribed the interview of Lito David in GMA’s News To Go which was uploaded in You Tube January 23, 2013. I directly translated to English while transcribing. I hope this transcript would be useful to others who wish to know more about the Senatorial Candidate Lito David of Ang Kapatiran Party.]

1. What for you is the biggest problem in our country?

Poverty which is the fruit of corruption is the biggest problem of our country. Thus, we must strive to remove corruption so that we can give solution to the problem of poverty of our citizens.

2. You were are representative or member of the Ang Kapatiran Party which has religious orientation. I assume that you have been an anti-RH advocate?

That is true.

3. Why? So you believe that there is a Catholic Vote?

It was proven in 1995. Senator Flavier should have been No. 1, but he ended up No. 5 in that election. This 2010, the poster girl of the RH campaign and the poster boys of the RH campaign–those three lost: Risa Hontiveros, Nerio Acosta, and Ruffy Biazon. Negative Catholic vote was silent before, and did not became noisy. But it happened.

4. But we can say that there are Pro-RH also won and the RH itself won.

The pro RH’s win, Howie, in the previous months we cannot say was not an honest vote. As far as we know, because we were there, many of them there were intimidated or bribed to vote in favor of RH.

5. So there was bribery?

Yes. It was clear. It was not denied by the palace, even if we said it many times in the TV and radio, that they were there to threaten the others that if they will not vote Pro, they better not come; otherwise their pork barrel will not be released. That was the thing that happened before.

6. Do you possess a gun?

Me, no. Ever since I never had a gun.

7. What is your view on gun ownership and proliferation of guns in the society?

It was due to our allowing this culture. But the Filipino culture is peace-loving. But we only allowed a few to own guns. The stand of Ang Kapatiran Party is not to outlaw guns and gun ownership, but to regulate well the bringing of guns in public. The permit to carry is what should be regulated–that is what we are pushing for.

8. Why are you immediately running for the senate? You have no experience in elections. You have not yet run before.

This is my second time. In 2010 I also ran under the Ang Kapatiran Party as one of the senatorial candidates. I was instructed by the party to run again. If it is experience and competence in crafting of laws, I already have a long experience. I spent 10 years working in the senate, there are many laws that I took part in crafting. There are also many laws that I primarily finished. But because I am only a staff, I could not own the writing of the law. We are the background workers that make these laws.

9. So what are tyourhe priorities if you enter the senate?

We have many priorities: the prohibition of political dynasty, control of ownership and use of guns, the passage of freedom of information law, the prohibition of the pork barre–these are some of the items that we shall really push for. For me, personally, I wish to focus on the creation of frameworks for the use of land and water resources. Up to this time, before I left senate, I already finished that proposal. It was already in the senate floor. But the problem is some senators did not find it important. But for me it is important because this will give us true progress in our country.

10. You oppose political dynasty, but you have a member in Ang Kapatiran, one senatorial candidate, JC delos Reyes who is a member of the Gordon Political Family. Would you oppose his running again if the Anti-Dynasty Law gets passed?

He is the one who said that if the Anti-Dynasty Law gets passed, he said he will not run if Senator Gordon is there.

11. Ok. We have a Miss Universe portion on a lighter portion regarding the character and personality. When was the last time you cried?

Just the other day. When I looked back to the length of time for my fight for the betterment of our society, sometimes I feel tired. I started at 17 years old. Many times I was nearly killed. Before I fought for an ideology for our citizens. Now I am fighting for the Faith for our citizens.

12. What is the trait that you don’t like with your self?

Sometimes, I do procrastinate. I have a problem with that. But I was able to work against it.

13. Do you have something to change in your past, what is it?

There are many things that I wish to change, that is why I am here. This is my way to pay my sins to my fellowmen and to God.